Cart

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

It’s been a huge week in American politics, and Disinfo readers seem awfully quiet about their feelings on the matter. What’s the problem folks, did you spend too much energy screaming at your Facebook friends? We’d love to hear your opinions on this article and the health care bill. Is it the a good thing, or a tool of the ‘new world order?’

Barack Obama has transformed health reform from near death to fact. So how will Obamacare change America’s health system?

THE Barack Obama who addressed Americans at near midnight on March 21st had every right to gloat. After a year in which his proposals for health reform were savaged by Republicans and leftists alike, and declared dead half a dozen times by everyone, he has somehow managed to get them over the finishing line.

The reform package is made up of two bills. One, a flawed and pork-laden version of health reform passed by the Senate before Christmas, has now been approved by the House; Mr Obama signed this on March 23rd. The other is a “reconciliation” bill meant to fix some of its flaws, and the House also passed this. Because this is a new bill, the Senate has to pass it too. It can do so under special “reconciliation” rules that require only 50 votes, not a filibuster-proof 60. As The Economist went to press, it looked set to do so.

What will it mean for America? The short answer is that the reforms will expand coverage dramatically, but at a heavy cost to the taxpayer. They will also do far too little to rein in the underlying drivers of America’s roaring health inflation. Analysis by RAND, an independent think-tank, suggests that the reforms will actually increase America’s overall health spending—public plus private—by about 2% by 2020, in comparison with a scenario of no reform (see chart). And that rate of spending was already unsustainable at a time when the baby-boomers are starting to retire in large numbers.

The heart of the new reform is a restructuring of America’s flawed insurance market. Insurers now face tough new regulations forbidding such practices as dropping people with “pre-existing conditions” (real or trumped up), or putting lifetime caps on coverage.

People haven't been commenting because this is a nonevent. A Democratic president makes law out of a Republican policy platform (Mitt Romney's, to be specific). And oh yeah, Big Pharma and the insurance industry hit the jackpot. Yawn.

It's hard to even get outraged about it, since a significant amount of uninsured Americans will actually be a bit better off. If you're looking for the hand of the big, bad NWO in this, chalk it up to the old frog in a pot analogy. “They” had been turning up the heat a little too fast lately and people were getting ready to jump out of the pot, so now they're easing off a bit.

DISeasedjesus

The mafia sells “insurance.” Now the government in team with corporations do the same thing. In effect regulating the very health of the people. This is going to end badly.

nick__nick

I'm Canadian, and while I realize that the new health care plan in America really isn't like ours at all, i'm still pretty proud of America for making a small step forward. I love seeing how worried extremist right wingers are getting. It's kind of adorable, in a sad, pathetic way.

voxmagi

The absence of commentary is likely due to the 'open-minded' nature of this forum. Sure, some are batshit insane and screaming that the NWO is going to kill Grandma…tomorrow…with a steak knife…to the face, but these are the same people who say that about dental floss, the gout and sex out of wedlock, so we take their BS with a huge grain of salt. On the other side, there are a few Obama cultists fervently worshiping at the altar of the DNC, completely incapable of grasping that their beloved party and president sold almost every worthwhile concept down the pipe just to get this passed and redeem his flaccid performance as a “bringer of change.”

And that leaves most of us, here, at disinfo, calmly observing the idiocy and shaking our heads with regret, because a brief bright window of opportunity was open…and was then slammed shut by both parties…the party of bad change and the party of no change. For most of this crowd, Obama has but one shining virtue that distinguishes him from Bush…he looks smart and articulate while fucking up and steering us toward the iceberg, as opposed to having a look of stunned hurt that people would be so cruel as to complain about being poorly led in every respect.

We haven't really 'improved' health care in this country…we've just expanded the base of people who will be frustrated with its inadequacies. When something more noteworthy occurs…now that might generate some interest.

Rheokhu

I can't get any more worked up over this than I am over the Democrats' continued prosecution of the wars or their conversion to the gospel of state secrets to protect their war criminal predecessors. The GOP wasted a vast quantity of time and energy railing against an imaginary Communist threat and only managed to distract their working poor constituents from a very real transfer of wealth from the poor to the captains of industry.

The Democrats seem to suffer from the same problem the Republicans have: a lack of any competent opposition to keep them honest when they're in power.

ebwolf

If there is any real reform in this bill it may be the student loan reforms slipped in at the last moment.But even that must be chewed thoroughly before swallowing since last minute add-ons are usually filled with loopholes coded in lawyer-speak.As for healthcare, the little people get a few table scraps so the fat cats can feast.Sounds like business as usual.

Polymorpheous

all this bill did was was further polarize an already very politically polarized country. (besides the nearly trillion dollar paycheck to big insurance of course.) the republicrats strike again!divide and conquer… mission accomplished.

mrtwilight23

I think this will take the steam out of the health insurance industry. Before this bill they were jacking up their prices arbitrarily at an average rate of 30% per year for the last two decades, while they cut sick people from their groups. They've had a sweetheart of a deal for a long time, but no more. They've only had to cover the people least likely to need medical care, while our government would foot the bill once you're a senior.

My prediction for November 2010: Republicans won't dare lay a hand on the bill.

Rich

Hey America, welcome to the 21st century! Every other developed country and even some developing countries already have what you would call “Socialist Health Care Systems” and they all work very well, and it doesn't matter if a left or right government is in power. Our health care costs are also far lower than yours so whats up there?

I can get blue ribbon, top of the line health care coverage for around US$160 per month, and that includes dental (this is in Australia where we have both a public and private system). But if I am broke or jobless then the public health care system picks me up and almost everything is paid for. I should know, I have had cancer, and a heart attack and my care was through the public system and it was superb.

I don't think you have to worry about anything guys, seriously.

storm79

hope it works out so well……time will tell.

radiac

I'm hoping for a Soylent Green type snack, made out of Baby Boomers.

Anonymous

Frankly, the whole thing leaves me undecided and uneasy. How can the motivations of any of the players involved be trusted? The bill itself is of riduculous and incomprehensible length, (comparable to tax code) understood only by the lawyers and corporate lobbyists who drafted it. There are no “good guys” in the mix, no one particularly trustworthy. Everybody has there own agenda and always its related to profit and power.
How could anybody feel “all good” about this? Who even really knows whats in the bill?
I feel as if my mind has been filled with glue, and as a result, a glaze of mad apathy taints my eyes.
“Its the end of the world as we knew it, and I feel fine……” Screw it….

GoodDoktorBad

Frankly, the whole thing leaves me undecided and uneasy. How can the motivations of any of the players involved be trusted? The bill itself is of riduculous and incomprehensible length, (comparable to tax code) understood only by the lawyers and corporate lobbyists who drafted it. There are no “good guys” in the mix, no one particularly trustworthy. Everybody has there own agenda and always its related to profit and power.How could anybody feel “all good” about this? Who even really knows whats in the bill? I feel as if my mind has been filled with glue, and as a result, a glaze of mad apathy taints my eyes. “Its the end of the world as we knew it, and I feel fine……” Screw it….